by Tony Rhea, Reporter

Social media? Who needs it. I mean, besides us here at ComicsOnline. I guess I also use it for cat memes and funny videos. Also, you all use it to find more of our reviews and retweets. Where was I going with this? Regardless, social media can be great AND terrible. Can it rip a team apart? Find out in World’s Finest: Teen Titans #1!

Official Description:
Spinning out of the pages of the runaway hit Batman/Superman: World’s Finest comes a modern retelling of the early adventures of the original Teen Titans! Led by Robin, the Boy Wonder, a new super-team has burst onto the scene-meet the Teen Titans, DC’s grooviest group filled with super-teens with super-problems. When they’re not fighting alongside their Justice League mentors, they’re managing their image and cultivating the rabid fan base that helps them save the world…as, all the while, a danger from the shadows intends to tear these friends apart before they ever reach the big time. Before they were the Titans of the DCU, they were the Teen Titans, and you won’t want to miss this fresh take on their origins from the legendary talents of Mark Waid and Emanuela Lupacchino!

Creative Team:
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Emanuela Lupacchino
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Steve Wands

The Teen Titans embark on their mission to help by trying to stop a group of demon worshippers from committing human sacrifice, but Robin grows upset when he realizes that Speedy has deployed a drone to broadcast the whole thing on social media. While Robin and Speedy go head-to-head over this, as well as the issues regarding Robin and trust, someone in the shadows is thinks the Teen Titans need to be replaced.

This comic serves as a wonderful example of blending classic design with modern storytelling. From the cover on, this take on classic character designs don’t feel out of place, and serve to increase the nostalgic effect this comic has. While the story deals with a modern problem, many of the panels evoke the feeling of reading a Golden Age comic with the way the story is drawn, character expressions, etc. Waid gives us a version of the Teen Titans that is delightfully different from what we have seen recently, and while the issue deals mostly with Robin and Speedy, he doesn’t lose sight of the other members for the sake of the story. The relatively low-threat nature of the story also serves as an excellent set-up for the impending threat, as how will the Titans come together to face a larger threat if something as small as “whether or not to post a video” is seemingly enough to tear them apart. Lupacchino and Bellaire are the real stars of this issue, however, as the designs and colors present in this comic perfectly emulate what made the classic comic books “classic”. The shadowing effects on the suits are even given the classic treatment. The designs and colors are beautiful in this book, and if the story weren’t enough to interest you, then the art would bring you right in. I admittedly wasn’t always the biggest fan of some of these classic designs, but with Lupacchino and Bellaire working on this comic, I have definitely been swung.

World’s Finest: Teen Titans #1 is a great setup for what looks to be a fun and classic story. Waid and the rest of the team have captured something great within these pages, and it just might be lightning in a bottle.

[RATING4.5/5]
ComicsOnline gives World’s Finest: Teen Titans #1 a whopping 4.5 out of 5 Speedy Drones.